Daedric Faction War
by Melkor's Mercy
Summary: Molag Bal versus the good daedra


**An Unlikely Ally**

Molag Bal let out a casual sigh as he sat upon his frozen black throne atop the darkened capitol of Coldharbour. The prince's realm was a mirror image of Tamriel except everything was horribly dark and twisted. The air was freezing and the sky was on fire. Although nothing compared to the landscape that one could only describe as evil. Coldharbour was filled with sludgy marshes, jagged mountain ranges, and best of all barren, frozen wastes.

Some might wonder why Molag Bal's realm would look like this, but he was the Lord of Corruption and Domination after all. Master of the undead, king of rape, and father of all vampires. The daedric lord had a great fascination with Tamriel much more so than many of his fellow princes. His obsession with Tamriel caused him to reshape his own realm in its image…with a bit of his own twist of course.

Although sadly, it just couldn't compare to the real thing. The Lord of Domination sought ownership of Tamriel to rule over all mortals as their God-King. Such a feat wasn't unachievable, but previous attempts had proven unsuccessful. The pesky "gods" always found a way to thwart his plans. That or his fellow Daedric Lords would sabotage him constantly. Like Boethiah for example. Molag Bal loathed the Prince of Plots, his arch-rival…the narcissistic Boethiah.

Boethiah's arrogance was only the tip of the ice-berg however. There was an unbelievable complexity when it came to the relationships between daedric lords. Simple friendships could be seen as a political move against another. Merely associating with the wrong lord could make you more enemies than you could count. This seemed the case when Molag Bal and Boethiah became rivals.

The Prince of Plots had become afraid of him over the past several millennia in mortal terms. Despite the non-existence of time in Oblivion, time was still there. One could only see it when they witnessed another's connection to Mundus…and Molag Bal had a very powerful connection to Mundus. This was the source of his growing power over the "passing of time" in Oblivion. Boethiah, one of the most powerful lords, was the only one brave enough to actually call Molag Bal out and challenge him.

Among the princes, the more powerful you are, the more you are feared and hated. It was a vicious cycle…they all sought power to earn respect among each other, but if they became too powerful they were challenged and in worst cases multiple princes would band against one. They all saw it first hand with Jyggalag. The Prince of Order sought to challenge the other Lords of Oblivion. He conquered Peryite and Vaermina's realms and was on his way to Boethiah's until he got utterly annihilated by the others.

Looking back on it Molag Bal could still remember the way Boethiah, Dagon, and Hircine overpowered Jyggalag. The prince was thankful those three weren't allies because when they worked together they were invincible. The others took to calling them the Chaos Lords afterwards for their instrumental roles in defeating the Prince of Order. Sadly, Jyggalag's fate was much worse than anything the three of them could have come up with. No, the madness inflicted upon his mind turning him into Sheogorath was all the work of Azura. Such a pious, and self-righteous being she was…Molag Bal hated her more than any of his peers.

She was the most cunning, manipulative liar in the entire universe he thought. Sure, Hermaeus Mora and Mephala were both geniuses and master tactician puppet masters…but she was the one who was so good at it, that she managed to convince most mortals that she was a benevolent "god." The thought disgusted him. Azura, the Princess of Twilight, was in fact one of the most wicked daedric lords. Sure she wasn't as obvious or upfront about it like he was, but she did it much more subtle.

Molag Bal wouldn't care except for the fact that she was Boethiah's greatest ally. She and Mephala were both aligned with his nemesis, Boethiah which made it impossible for him to fight on his own terms. The "Tribunal" as they had come to call themselves were one of the major factions among the Daedric Lords.

This little political council made it clear to the others that they sought to establish a command presence in Oblivion. They sought to put themselves on pedestals above the others and rule them through fear. The thing he hated most about this little Tribunal was that it was such a great idea. He wished he could have pulled something like it off. How could the Lord of Domination have let some other prince come up with the best way to dominate all of the daedra?

However, Azura didn't make any friends doing this…especially after she and Boethiah challenged Molag Bal's growing power. Fortunately for him, he had a few friends of his own. Namira, Peryite, and Clavicus Vile were all backing him up. This created a sort of stalemate that prevented anyone from doing anything except screw with other's plans in Mundus.

He wasn't quite sure why the three of them took his side. He hadn't really done anything for any of them and had little to no interest in their endeavors. Peryite it seemed shared a similar philosophical viewpoint in most subjects and probably did it out of a mutual respect. Clavicus always seemed to like him for whatever reason. He even went out of his way to help the Lord of Domination's vampires out. Namira on the other hand…he wasn't too sure. She favored disgusting, dark, weird things. She rules over many spirit daedra in her dark realm known as the Scuttling Void. Almost none of the others knew much about her let alone her dark realm of Oblivion.

She seemed quite fond of him however much like Clavicus and Peryite. Molag Bal remembered her saying that they "had a lot in common." He wondered what that could have possibly meant. The curiosity prodded him as he tried to imagine Namira's hobbies. _'I suppose I could ask her…but then again I have better things to do,_' he thought.

As for the other princes, they didn't really seem to care about the little rivalry going on between the Tribunal and Molag Bal. Nocturnal and Vaermina had no interest in the conflict and were almost never seen outside their own realms. Hermaeus Mora was always a passive bystander, but even still he was Mephala's brother which meant he couldn't be trusted.

Malacath…who knows what he thought anymore. He wasn't a fan of Boethiah, but then again he wasn't a fan of Molag Bal either. Meridia hated undead…and Molag Bal created undead, so that was definitely a problem he was going to have to keep in mind. She could easily tip the balance against him if she joined forces with Azura. Sanguine and Sheogorath were both unpredictable but they didn't seem to involve themselves in the political games. Unfortunately though, Hircine could just as easily as Meridia, take up arms against him.

Hircine had this hatred for slavery and domination due to his principles of freedom, hunting, and fairness. Thankfully, Hircine was opposed to the Tribunal as well otherwise he would be a major threat. He could only hope that the rogue prince wouldn't side against him in an alliance of convenience. With all of them out of his initial concerns, that only left Mehrunes Dagon to truly wonder about. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Dagon's opinion on him was. The two had never really been "friends" so to speak, but they never seemed to cross each others' plans or interests.

Bal knew that Dagon was very powerful. Sure the others all made fun of him for failing all the time to get into Mundus, but the Prince of Destruction was no pushover among the Daedric Lords…especially in Oblivion. If by some miracle or curse as others might call it; he could find a way to get Dagon's cooperation…then he could easily tip the balance in his own favor. Nevertheless, there would still be the problem of establishing a hierarchy among his little team. Sure the other three would easily fall in line, but Dagon wouldn't agree to serve under him and Molag Bal wasn't even sure if he could physically make him. The two of them were rather close in power and would end up fighting each other in order to establish dominance.

It was truly a shame since they would make a damn good team. He could only imagine how epic his alliance of outcasts would be. Maybe it wasn't impossible…but he would have to work miracles to pull it off. Perhaps if he established a better relationship with his allies he could get enough backing in order to force Dagon to comply. Even Dagon would think twice about denying him if he had the others behind him.

Molag Bal practically beamed at the idea of leading them into the Deadlands and forcing Dagon to kneel to him. It was a good fantasy that he hoped to make reality. The only one he could imagine being better would be burning Moonshadow and laughing as he put Azura, Boethiah, and Mephala on leashes.

He started laughing at the image of making Azura his steward and forcing her to do mundane chores. It was the only fate he could think worse than torturing and raping her. That would take away her sense of importance…she wouldn't even be worthy of torturing. It would make her feel worthless and insignificant. Oh the thought was utterly brilliant.

Boethiah, however, he would do everything to until she was completely broken and utterly enthralled to his will. Mephala would become his sex slave. He didn't see any reason to break her as long as she minded her place. Hell and if he could knock those three off their thrones why would he have to stop there? He could turn Dagon into his muscle, and delegate to the others.

With all of them under heel he could easily sack Apocrypha and bring an end to Hermaeus Mora's annoying interference in Tamriel. Although the Lord of Domination had no clue what he could do to make that part feasible. If he managed to get that far, Hermaeus Mora would already know and would probably have found a way to undo his plan.

Maybe he could leave Mora alone and still rule Oblivion. As for Meridia, He would desecrate her pretty little realm and defile the angelic being into a twisted dark enforcer. Hircine he would find a way to break until the pup submitted and if that didn't work, he'd lock him in a giant cage for the rest of eternity…and when he became rabid and insane, he would unleash him against Aetherius.

Molag burst into uncontrollable laughter that echoed loudly down the halls of his palace and throughout the skies of Coldharbour. This display caused a great deal of concern among his servants who all eyed him worriedly anticipating something was about to happen.

The dark lord casually glanced around his throne room. He had a wide assortment of lesser daedra. Vampires were also very prevalent within his realm. Whenever they died in the mortal plane, their souls would come to Coldharbour to serve their master for eternity. The strongest and most favored of his minions he turned into honor guards.

Most of them included the oldest and most powerful vampires. Sitting on either side of his throne were two of his favorites. One was Lamae Beolfang, the first vampire…well besides him. Many had taken a fancy to calling her the Blood Queen. Others sometimes call her the queen of the damned. It all meant the same thing to him however…she was first among them. On his other side sat Harkon who had just recently been destroyed in Tamriel. At first Molag Bal was annoyed to see one of his oldest and strongest servants lose a foothold presence in Skyrim, but then he figured Harkon was overdue for a reality check.

He made sure to punish the man for show, but honestly he didn't care about Harkon's failed plan. It was too ambitious…the last thing he needed was one of his stupid servants doing something drastic and painting a target on Molag Bal's main source of influence in Tamriel, vampires. Molag Bal killed and beat the man a couple hundred times first before sitting him down and explaining his logic. Afterwards, Harkon seemed as straight as the day he was turned. Although Bal was rather annoyed to hear that Harkon's wife and daughter turned against him and their clan.

He figured he was going to have to collect the other two at some point. The girl was somewhere on Tamriel with her "knight in shining armor." Molag Bal could only hope that he would get a chance to meet him. Valerica on the other hand, he wasn't quite sure about. The dark lord sent out many of his own trackers to locate the woman, but apparently she wasn't in Mundus…and she was definitely not in Coldharbour.

Where would that leave? If she wasn't dead and not in Mundus then she would have to be in Oblivion somewhere. The Lord of Domination thought hard for a moment and began to astral project through the dark emptiness locking onto Valerica's blood. He followed a strange trail through the void going below all of the realms into the spiraling, black hole. As he drifted for what seemed like a long time he came across a purple light outlining the edge of some kind of realm. As he approached it, he heard a feminine voice whisper coolly in his ear, "What brings you here, 'Lord of Domination?'"

The voice was eerie yet strangely comforting. However, the way it said the last part made him shiver slightly. Molag Bal looked around through the empty blackness around him for the identity of the whisperer.

He remained silent as he was unable to locate the source. "It's not often a Daedric Lord comes to this part of Oblivion…are you afraid of the dark my Lord?" The voice's tone was almost joking yet at the same time he couldn't tell if that meant it was friendly or hostile.

Finally, he spoke up, "Who are you? What is your interest in my business? I demand you reveal yourself unless you want to suffer my full attention!" His tone was defensive and stern. There was a brief silence until he heard a casual reply, "You think you're in a position to threaten me? You don't even know who I am yet."

"Obviously you're some kind of bottom-feeding scum in Oblivion if you have nothing better to do than bother me all the way down here!" He shouted angrily into the blackness. Right as he finished his remark a pair of glowing purple eyes appeared in front of him. He looked closer and soon recognized a cloaked figure. As the figure came into focus, Molag Bal instantly recognized who it was.

She had a skeletal deathly face with long black hair, sweeping horns, and a spiked diadem. Her visage was repulsive and would most likely have terrified him if he wasn't a Daedric Prince. He shook his head and sighed, "Namira…"

Her skeletal face began to fill and was soon that of a ghostly pale beauty. Molag Bal was rather surprised by this change in appearance and raised a brow confused. Namira narrowed her gaze at him and sighed, "I'm kind of offended you didn't know who I was…am I that miniscule to you?" Her tone was passive and sounded emotionless, but her facial expression said otherwise.

"What?! No, I just didn't recognize you is all! I'm…ugh, well it won't happen again," he responded quickly hoping to salvage the situation. He didn't want to upset Namira, one of his potential allies.

"You were about to apologize to me weren't you?" she asked in the same emotionless voice.

Molag Bal's jaw dropped, "What?! You're crazy, why would I apologize? You're the one who was trying to fuck with me!"

"Interesting choice of words…I'll entertain the thought," she continued with the same tone but this time a small smile graced her lips. The Lord of Domination blushed with embarrassment, probably for the first time in forever, "I didn't mean it like that…I mean not that I was saying I didn't like you! Err, I mean I like you but not like…damn it you know what I mean!"

She licked her lips, "No, I don't think I fully understand what you mean…maybe you can find some way to articulate your 'feelings?'"

At this point Molag Bal felt completely embarrassed. He wasn't used to being tongue tied like this or dealing with Namira in person. Hell she completely caught him off guard when she switched appearance. She noticed him staring and traced a hand over one of his horns before leaning into a whisper, "Now, tell me again why you're really here? Maybe if you humor me we can mix your business with my pleasure?"

She completely caught him off guard again and started laughing when he turned around and shouted, "Stop that! You're not funny, Namira! Don't you have better things to do than stalking me?"

"Stalking?" she responded casually, "oh you would like that wouldn't you? I bet you've got all sorts of weird fantasies about all of us." Her tone turned slightly amused near the end.

"No, this is about one of my servants. A pureblooded vampire by the name of Valerica is missing from my range of influence. She is not in Mundus or in Coldharbour. I came to search for her," Molag Bal changed the subject.

Namira raised a brow curiously, "Since when do you care about your minions?"

"Shut up, Namira. I do not like the idea of my property going missing no matter how insignificant it is!" Molag Bal shot back defensively.

She nodded her head and flashed him a small smile, "Yes of course. I forget that you are a control freak sometimes. So, what makes you think that she would be in my realm?"

"This is your realm? I've never even been here before," The Lord of Domination noted as he glanced around at the pitch black darkness outlined with what appeared to be dark purple light.

Namira grabbed one of Molag Bal's wrists and teleported the two of them further down to what appeared to be a festering barren ocean filled with grotesque gore and a bile black liquid. As they both stood over this oceanic landscape, Molag Bal examined it closer. It appeared to be what one could only describe as liquid darkness.

Suddenly sand began to rain from the starless, empty skies. Molag Bal looked closer and soon noticed that the entire horizon was a gigantic hourglass. Dark spirits began to rise from the darkness and howled across the empty silence. This piercing shriek was the only sound that could be heard in all directions besides the sound of raining sand and the churning of the liquid below.

"Disgusting isn't it? The scuttling void is a place of dark obscurity where the unknown horrors thrive. You're the first Lord besides me to ever set foot within, Molag Bal," Namira said distantly as if she was admiring her own realm for the first time.

The Prince of Corruption felt something slimy slither around his leg and up his body. He looked down and spotted a pure black snake with massive horns and purple eyes. It hissed soothingly as it wrapped itself around his upper body.

Many of the wailing spirits also took notice of Molag Bal and began to cling to him. He was about to fling them all away in disgust but decided to remain still. This proved to be in his best interest as Namira chimed in, "My pets like you a lot. They have never seen such a powerful and commanding presence other than myself."

"Yeah, this is interesting and all, but I have things I have to do…" Molag Bal sighed.

"For the record, I think your creation of the undead is one of your greatest works. I have followed your example for quite a while now and even created undead of my own," Namira stated almost nostalgically.

Molag Bal sent her a weird look as he brushed Namira's minions off of himself, "Explain yourself…what have you done, Namira?"

The Daedric Princess flashed him another small smile, "I will show you…my latest work. I thought about offering it as a gift to you, but there were a few complications involved."

"What would you give me a gift? Not to mention, what the hell do you think you're doing trying to copy my work?!" he demanded unhappily.

Namira sighed, "I found these ethereal crystal spirits deep in the void and thought to bring them within my influence. They were very powerful and clearly not Daedra. I noticed they had a vast hunger for souls and decided to create a place for them to feast upon these souls. I eventually named them the ideal masters and sought to use them as a conduit to harvest souls from Mundus. They do not realize however that I am the real ideal master of the void."

Molag Bal raised a brow in shock, "Are you referring to the Soul Cairn?! I have never been able to find it! Servants of mine claimed to have gained powerful necromancy from this place, yet I never found proof of its existence. Are you saying that you created the Soul Cairn?! You've been hiding this from me the entire time?!"

Namira pointed her hand towards the sky causing a massive vortex to appear in the sky. Both Molag Bal and she felt themselves get sucked upwards through what appeared to be the spiraling center of the hourglass like sky of the Scuttling Void.

The Lord of Domination soon found himself erupting from the other side and falling down towards a new landscape. This one was dotted with bones, crystals, and other structures that Molag Bal could not make out. Namira landed gracefully by hovering from the ground moments before reaching it.

Molag Bal on the other hand smashed full force into the bone and sand littered landscape causing a shockwave to erupt in all directions. He could immediately smell Valerica's blood and without a work took off in her direction. It wasn't long before he found himself in front of a massive structure guarded by what appeared to be a disfigured dragon.

"Halt, who approaches within the Soul Cairn? The Ideal masters will not tolerate your presence here," Duhrnevir spoke mechanically as if he didn't really want to say it.

Molag Bal hissed at the dragon, "Remove yourself from my presence, before I punish you!"

Duhrnevir quickly noticed that Molag Bal was an extremely powerful Daedra and bowed his head, "How is it that a Daedric Lord is here?"

Namira had finally caught up to Molag Bal and shook her head in slight annoyance, "So impatient I see. Your little servant is inside, Molag Bal."

There seemed to be some kind of barrier surrounding this building. Without another word, Molag Bal unleashed the full power of his mace and smashed the barrier open also blowing away half the building in the process. He let out a loud and menacing roar as he charged inside, "VALERICA! YOUR MASTER CALLS!"

The vampire woman appeared completely distraught to hear the sound of his voice. She timidly came out from around the corner and answered her master's call, "Lord, Molag Bal…I am here."

He slowly stomped towards her and cracked his neck as he reached the woman. She bit her lip and looked down shamefully knowing exactly why he was here. "Did you think that you could hide from me, girl?"

Much to his disbelief, instead of begging for forgiveness, Valerica ran over and hugged his leg, "Master, you have come to free me from this dreadful place! I am unworthy! Please take me away from the ideal masters!"

Molag Bal gave her a quizzical look before turning back towards Namira, "She was trapped here?!"

Instantly hoping to regain her favor, Valerica nodded her head, "Yes master, the ideal masters imprisoned me here a long time ago when I took the elder scroll away from Harkon."

The Lord of Domination kicked the vampire and sent her flying, "You do realize that Harkon is in Coldharbour now…and if I am not mistaken, you still have your soul! I have heard disappointing rumors that you and your whore of a daughter have betrayed the coven…tell me that isn't true."

Namira chuckled, "There is an open portal to Tamriel not far from here…she chose to remain here when the Dragonborn and her daughter came for the Elder Scroll."

Molag Bal growled at Valerica before glancing over at Namira, "You're kidding me right?!"

"Master, please listen! Surely you must realize the danger Harkon's plan would have wrought upon our kind. I simply wished to keep him from fulfilling the prophecy!" Valerica pleaded.

The dark lady, Namira shook her head, "If that were true, then you would have left by now…"

"I cannot leave…the ideal masters still have control over me," the explained.

The Prince of Corruption groaned in annoyance as he picked the woman up by the throat, "The only one who has and ever will control you is ME! You are coming with me back to Coldharbour where I will punish you slave!"

Upon releasing his grip on her neck, Valerica began to kiss his feet, "I love you, master. Thank you for remembering me!"

Namira seemed a bit amused by this sight and shook her head, "She seems awfully eager to leave…perhaps I should summon the ideal masters and get the full story."

Valerica instantly cowered behind her master as he turned around to face Namira. The dark lady channeled a purple magic in her hands before summoning three ethereal, crystal like spirits. Molag couldn't fully describe their appearance, due to the intangible shifting between physical and spirit forms.

"Don't let them take me, master!" Valerica shouted fearfully causing the Ideal Masters to form up in front of Molag Bal.

He glared at the crystal like shades, "Don't even think about it…this one is MINE!"

"It is him,"

"Molag Bal."

"Do we proceed?"

"Yes."

"His power is nothing…"

"Compared to us," the Ideal masters spoke amongst each other.

"Namira, what is the meaning of this?!" Molag Bal demanded as the Ideal Masters began to encircle him.

She remained silent as Molag Bal drew his mace again. He cracked his fist and laughed, "Oh, I do hope this isn't some kind of trap, Namira…Surely you're smarter than that."

"This is a trap…but not yours," she stated emotionlessly before firing a barrage of energy towards the ideal masters forcing them their intangibility to stop and full crystalline bodies to form.

"What is this?"

"The observer!"

"She betrays us!"  
"NO! Our power is…"

"TOO GREAT!" They spoke the last part in unison before transforming fully into crystal like humanoids. They each formed dual blades from their arms and charged Molag Bal.

He easily deflected their attacks and twirled his mace around gracefully before shattering each one of them to pieces. As the crystals splintered into thousands of pieces, an unending torrent of souls came spiraling outwards from their now shattered corpses.

Molag Bal's eyes went wide as these countless souls began to flow into him and Namira. The entire Soul Cairn appeared to be collapsing as the landscape spiraled upwards and all of the souls within were sucked into the two Daedric Lords.

Wasting no time, Molag Bal, snatched Valerica and teleported away from the void. He crossed a liminal bridge on his way back towards Coldharbour causing the streaming vortex of souls behind him to follow. Upon reaching Coldharbour once again, a portal opened in the sky and thousands of souls poured into Coldharbour from within Molag Bal.

He could feel himself becoming much more powerful from this influx of souls. As the vortex in the sky finally closed, Molag Bal found himself standing in the center of his capital surrounded by all of the newly acquired souls. They quickly manifested into physical forms and all stared at him in awe.

Molag Bal glanced around at them curiously before a legion of vampires and Daedroth came charging from all directions. Gargoyles rained down from the skies as well as countless Winged Twilights. The Lord of Domination was unsure of what just happened as he released Valerica causing her to fall to the ground. Many of his honor guards came out to greet him and were shocked by the vast amount of newcomers.

"He is our savior!" One woman shouted full of glee as she bowed to the ground at Molag Bal.

This caused him great confusion as all of the others began to cheer and bow to him.

"WE'RE FINALLY FREE OF THAT PLACE! All praise our hero and our new lord!" Another man added.

Molag Bal huffed in annoyance before shouting, "SHUT UP! I am nobody's damned hero! I AM YOUR MASTER NOW! TREMBLE AND DESPAIR, MORTALS! I AM MOLAG BAL!"

"All hail Molag Bal!" A woman shouted causing the others to follow suit. They continued to cheer and clap much to his annoyance.

"UGH! STOP BEING HAPPY! I did not come to save any of you!" The Lord of Domination shouted.

Much to his disbelief, a sultry voice sounded from behind him, "I have decided to share my power with you, Molag Bal…however, it comes with a price."

He quickly turned around and spotted Namira. She eyed him anxiously before continuing, "I used the Ideal Masters to collect souls for a long time in order to build up power in secret. Surely you must realize the danger all of us are in with the Tribunal's rise to power. I was going to keep these souls to myself, but it would have been wasted on me. You are a much more powerful fighter than I am. Through the mastery of souls, you will bring a new faction to power in order to challenge the Tribunal's reign."

"Why?" was all he could ask barely able to believe Namira's generosity.

She smiled, "Consider it a gift…the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I want nothing more than to see Azura fall…and her pathetic light put out forever."

Molag Bal began to cackle manically, "Yes, you were truly correct when you said we had a lot in common. I will not forget your loyalty Namira. You shall stand as my right hand when I subjugate all of Oblivion beneath my reign!"

"I do not desire power…simply satisfaction in knowing my role to bring about the Tribunal's end," She responded darkly.

He nodded, "Then I suppose it is time for me to recruit more allies. Peryite and Clavicus Vile already support me. The Shadow Lords will rise! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Namira simply smiled as she nodded her head in approval, "Although, there is one favor I would ask. Destroy Meridia and her pathetic light."

"For you, it shall be done! HAHAHA!" Molag Bal responded with maniacal enthusiasm.

After a long laughing session he looked over his confused minions, "Listen, all of you! Hear me and obey! Rally yourselves and prepare for war! Those who refuse to fight will be chained into the pits with starving daedroth! NOW MOVE!"

The thousands of minions began to scurry frantically all trying to make sense of the chaos. The dark lord knew that his vampires would bring them all in line and form the army, so he simply took his leave back towards this throne with Valerica. Upon arriving, Harkon looked shocked to see his wife.

"Kiss and make up, you worthless bitch!" Molag Bal yelled at the woman before kicking her to the ground. She spit up blood, "Yes, master."

Molag Bal glanced at Harkon and smiled, "Valerica has decided to forgive you for past mistakes, Harkon. I suggest you do the same. I don't need incompetence out of any of you due to some pathetic little grudge."

"She must at least be punished…" Harkon began but immediately shut up when Molag Bal backhanded him.

"Shut up, slave! Your master has spoken!" the daedric prince was annoyed by this quarrel between two of his strongest vampire lords.

Valerica glared at Harkon, "Even after all these years, that is the only thing you can say?! You disgrace yourself and our master! No wonder Serana and her friend killed you!"

"ENOUGH! You all seem to forget the one thing that matters here isn't your happiness, but mine! Valerica has clearly forgotten her respect for the chain of command. So, to fix this problem, Harkon, you will punish her," Molag Bal said angrily.

She looked pissed by her master's statement, "Why does he get to punish me?! He is the one that should be punished!"

"Valerica, you need to remember that Harkon outranks you. In fact…Harkon rape her," Molag Bal laughed.

He seemed a bit surprised by his master's command, but Harkon did as commanded and walked closer towards his wife. She looked as if she was about to resist before Molag Bal chimed in, "I was going to let this go, Valerica, but your attitude has brought this upon you."

"What's going on here, master?" a feminine voice sounded. Molag Bal glanced over and saw the Blood Queen eyeing the scene curiously.

"Ah, Lamae, good to see you…assist Harkon in punishing Valerica for her disrespect against superiors," The dark lord ordered the woman.

Her blood red eyes lit up as an eager smile crossed her lips, "Oh, a daughter of Coldharbour should know better than that. We will attend to her, master."

"Good, punish her until she enjoys it," Molag Bal cackled before leaving his minions alone.

As he walked down the halls of his palace he could hear screaming and moaning echoing behind him. _'They don't waste any time hahaha! Now…if I could only find a way to get Dagon on my side, then I could attack the Tribunal directly. Hmmm…Maybe I should go visit him after I sack Meridia's realm.'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The sound of grinding hot metal and insatiable war cries echoed throughout the Deadlands. Deep within the heart of Mehrunes Dagon's plane, his Dremora were busy at work training endlessly for the next chance to prove themselves to their god. The Prince of Destruction himself was seated on his throne atop a massive tower watching the tens of thousands of dremora below going about their business at his capitol.

It seemed so unusual to him that his Dremora never lost their resolve. Even the mightiest of daedra eventually learn humility, but his Dremora only took their losses as a challenge to work harder and become stronger. It was something he always valued about his minions. Even if there were some failures and unworthy traitors amongst their ranks, they were indispensable as a whole. The Kyn as they had come to call themselves were the very embodiment of his influence and the weapon of his cause.

Dagon looked over them and pondered what they were all thinking at that moment. His Dremora had always been loyal to him despite his own many recent failures, and yet somehow the Daedric Lord felt as if he was unworthy of being their god. He had spent much of the last two hundred years in humility ever since his failed attempt to conquer Nirn. It wasn't the first time he had been defeated by the actions of a mortal, but he just couldn't fathom why the pattern always repeated itself.

Was it some type of cruel and ironic joke that he was forced to suffer for all eternity? How could beings so miniscule, so petty, and so insignificant in the grand scheme of the Aurbis constantly bring about his defeat? It never occurred the same way twice, yet it always seemed to happen. Each time more embarrassing and humiliating than the last.

How could he have predicted the actions of a mortal that would summon the fiery form of Akatosh himself? It seemed kind of ironic that his ultimate plan to conquer Nirn was thwarted by the father of the dragons and some mortals. It wasn't the first time he suffered at the hands of a dragon sadly. They seemed to have some kind of inherent hatred for him.

Dagon could still remember the terrible memory of Alduin cursing his existence. Doomed to forever destroy Nirn in an attempt to make up for lost pieces in the Kalpas. Such a thing was impossible especially considering his inability to enter Nirn except during auspicious times that typically resulted in his banishment.

If only he had succeeded so long ago in killing Alduin or better yet avoided the dragon altogether…maybe just maybe he would still be the great being he once was. Though sadly, Dagon could not remember that many cycles ago.

'_Now I'm back to square one. Why does this keep happening to me?!' _the prince thought bitterly. Dagon could only imagine what kinds of jokes and insults his peers had come up with. Azura in all of her pious "wisdom" would probably be mocking his intelligence. Boethiah, Hircine, Malacath, and Molag Bal doubting his strength. He could imagine the smug looks on their faces reveling in his failures. Hermaeus Mora wouldn't care; Mephala would laugh and whisper her venomous insults behind his back. Nocturnal wouldn't care either, but nevertheless he still couldn't stand the arrogant expression that he knew she would give him. As for the others…Dagon had no clue what they thought of him.

He knew Namira and Vaermina had nothing against him, but they didn't really seem to care about anything. Sanguine, Sheogorath, and Clavicus Vile probably had a long list of jokes to use against him by now. What of Meridia though? Dagon had only seen her several times in person. What would the fallen Magna Ge say to him? She had never spoken to him before and as far as he could tell the only prince she seemed to have an issue with was Molag Bal, for his creation of vampirism. Personally, he didn't have a problem with the Prince of Corruption.

Mehrunes Dagon knew Molag Bal quite well compared to many of his fellow princes. The two were never allies, but they had a mutual unspoken friendship and an understanding to stay out of each others' way. Dagon wanted to destroy and Molag Bal wanted to enslave. The King of Rape had his own plots to conquer Nirn. They were never fully successful, but somehow Molag Bal always seemed to benefit from harvesting the souls of mortals.

Dagon knew better than most of his fellow princes that Molag Bal had grown quite powerful over the last several thousand years. The spread of vampirism certainly helped him in that regard, but there was something else too. Something was feeding his power. For even Boethiah, one of the strongest of his peers, had grown nervous regarding the issue and openly declared dislike for him by challenging his strength. Dagon knew that Boethiah was strong, but the Prince of Plots was also very clever. Molag Bal on the other hand seemed a worthy rival. They had been back and forth for the past several centuries eager to prove their supremacy over the other. Dagon was stronger than both of them, but he knew they were both much smarter than he was. He made it a priority to stay out of their quarrel because when it came to the rivalries of the princes, battles were fought with mind games, strategy, and subtlety.

Nevertheless, that didn't keep him from indirectly favoring the Lord of Domination. That was one of the things Dagon liked about Molag Bal. He was no friend of the Tribunal. Azura, Boethiah, and Mephala were all manipulative, lying, cowards. They preferred to wage their battles with venom-laced whispers and a dagger in the back. Unfortunately, Hircine didn't really seem to like Molag Bal either due to his hatred of slavery. Dagon had no doubt that they were all plotting something against the Molag Bal. Although this entire situation had created a sort of faction war between the princes since Peryite and Clavicus Vile both liked Molag Bal. That made him an indirect ally in the fact that he took their eyes off of Dagon himself.

Although he could just be fooling himself. Nobody seemed to view him as much of a threat anymore. It was a strange feeling for the Prince of Destruction that he was no longer taken seriously by the others. Looking back, Dagon could see failure after failure: His banishment at the hands of Sotha Sil and Almalexia at Mournhold, his loss at Battlespire, and most recently his loss to Akatosh in the Imperial City. All of these failures could be rooted back to mortals. Most of these mortals had some form of help from either the Tribunal or from the Aedra. He was sure of it.

That was the part that made it so humiliating for him. It was like everybody was conspiring to cripple his ambitions. The others were always plotting to keep him in check. Playing their games like master strategists and sending their pet mortals to thwart his work to free himself of his curse. Maybe Azura was right. Maybe he was simply nothing but a blind, ignorant brute. Nevertheless, Dagon was too proud to accept the humility of defeat or his curse any longer. It was time he played the game instead of simply bludgeoning through everything.

Perhaps he should fight back on their terms. He needed a plan though. For now it seemed that Molag Bal was the primary concern of the others. The princes always seemed to band together against any who became too powerful. It was their way of keeping things in balance. They had done it before against Jyggalag. The Prince of Order was a major threat to all of them when he started conquering other realms. Peryite's was the first to fall, followed by Sanguine's many realms and Vaermina's Quagmire. Seeing this as a major problem, many of them begrudgingly joined forces to end his advance with a quick unexpected ambush.

Looking back now, it seemed a lot like overkill since Dagon, Hircine, and Boethiah did nearly all of the work. The three of them were each beings of a chaotic nature and it seemed kind of fitting that they brought about the Prince of Order's defeat. Although Azura was the one who ultimately punished Jyggalag by distorting his mind into the mad god Sheogorath. That wasn't the worst part though…they left him with just enough sanity so that once every couple of centuries he would change back into Jyggalag and conquer his own realm from his alter ego. The result always ended in him turning back into Sheogorath.

Dagon was not one much for mercy, but even he felt that such a fate was a bit extreme. After that had happened, Dagon came to the realization that he could never trust Azura or her allies. She was quick to try and represent her dominance by establishing her Tribunal along with Boethiah and Mephala. Dagon had developed an intense hatred for their mortal worshippers in the age that followed.

He had seen firsthand the extent of their treacherous, manipulative ways. The way in which they indoctrinated the ancient chimer, now dunmer, seemed disgusting to him. Boethiah fought like a coward with no honor against Trinimac. Dagon had once respected Boethiah's strength and destructive rampages, but his fellow Lord was too much of a snake for him to tolerate.

Mephala didn't particularly bother him despite her meddling in everyone's business, but Azura on the other hand was the pinnacle of his malice. She was the worst out of all his fellow princes. The thing that made her so unbearable to him was the fact that she was a complete fraud. Dagon didn't care about mortals at all, but he found Azura's influence over the dunmer to be the prime example of her treacherous nature.

Upon first impression, she seems benevolent and charismatic. She is also considered very beautiful by most standards, but Dagon didn't fancy such things. Underneath the roses, the colorful lights, and the serene voice was one sick, twisted daedric bitch.

According to mortal standards and morality, Azura was considered "good," but Dagon found the very idea pathetic since Azura was really good at bending the wills of others. She pretended to be some kind of pious all-knowing goddess to the mortals and flashed some of her fancy power for them so that they would worship her. Her arrogance only seemed to grow when she gave mortals the labels for the four "Bad Daedra." All of which were threats to the Tribunal's clutch on the dark elves. They were Molag Bal, Malacath, Sheogorath, and himself. Dagon only hated mortals more for actually believing the lie.

Thankfully, though, the Tribunal Lords were eventually put in their places by a group of Chimer mortals which would later become the new Tribunal of the Dunmer people. Dagon actually had a decent amount respect for Almsivi because of their rejection of Azura. Sotha Sil, Almalexia, and Vivec were the first mortals he had ever encountered that were halfway respectable. Despite their interference in Mournhold, he did not hold any grudges. Sotha Sil in particular was his favorite out of the three, and Dagon didn't hold any resentment against him. He liked Vivec well enough too because of the chimer lord's philosophies. Although he would never admit that though. Almalexia on the other hand was completely arrogant, but at least she was more tolerable than Boethiah and Azura.

Their deaths were unfortunate, but unsurprising several thousand years later. Dagon knew even then that they signed their death contracts the moment they killed Nerevar. The Chimer King himself wasn't very impressive to Dagon. He was strong, by mortal standards, but was a complete tool in the hands of his master, Azura. A tool that was used quite effectively in delivering Azura her revenge.

Dagon always wondered why Azura coveted mortal worship. She was not tied to Mundus, so it wasn't like she directly gained power from worship. Perhaps it was just some petty fantasy she had about being desired and adored by mortals since very few lesser daedra actually trusted or liked her. Of course this was nothing new. It seemed most of the aedra and daedra alike were equally as narcissistic. However, very few of the Aedra had any reason to be, especially in comparison of power, to the daedric lords. Auriel and Talos were the only gods that Dagon and the other princes even concerned themselves with.

He almost laughed when some mortals founded a group called the Vigilants of Stendarr to fight daedra worshipers and what not. Stendarr was not very powerful in comparison to beings like himself and Molag Bal, but for some reason the mortals chose him as their protector against daedra. They saw the universe much differently than he did.

He didn't care about the opinions of mortals, but Dagon loathed having them condemn him as cruel when they understood so little about their own liar, and traitor gods. Mehrunes Dagon was nothing more than a target in the eyes of many mortals. When they thought of daedra, he and his dremora were what came to their minds. How ignorant and petty they were…to zealously condemn him in the names of their coward gods.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Dagon sighed deeply as he continued to ponder the situation he was now in. It seemed like the best course of action was to use Molag Bal as a shield. His fellow prince could distract the Tribunal while he could cross the Liminal Bridge. For this plan to work he needed three things to happen. First, he needed a plan to actually cross the barrier.

Some of his fellow princes such as Azura and Nocturnal could completely bypass the barrier through some loophole or another. Dagon didn't pay much attention to most of them, but he assumed some of the others had backdoors as well. Another thing he needed for this plan to work was Molag Bal to actually do something drastic to catch their attention. Although that could easily backfire if the others banded against Molag Bal.

He was powerful, but not even Molag Bal could stand up to Boethiah and Hircine at the same time, and they seemed to be his two biggest enemies. Although there was still the matter of Azura's influence over them and the wildcard Meridia. However, Dagon did see an opportunity here. He knew that Clavicus Vile and Peryite both liked Molag Bal to a certain extent as he himself did.

There was always a possibility of an alliance of convenience should the need ever arise. This unspoken faction war was like an active volcano ready to erupt. If it came down to it, he would have to protect Molag Bal to further his own ambitions. His massive horned head jerked in disbelief,_ 'Am I really plotting to protect someone?! What in Oblivion is wrong with me?!'_

He shrugged it off and went back to thinking. The last thing Dagon needed for his plan to succeed was an ally to spy on the Tribunal for him. It would be incredibly dangerous to trust any of the others, but perhaps one of them might be willing to assist him. None of his fellow "Bad Daedra" would work well for this plan unfortunately. Dagon would have to seek outside help from one of the more neutral ones. He knew that Vaermina would help if he asked, but she was too obvious and highly distrusted by the Tribunal.

Namira maybe…but she was too unpredictable for him to trust. If she decided to betray him, the others would all unite against him again, including Molag Bal. Daedric politics were complicated death traps it seemed. Nocturnal was Azura's sister and Dagon despised her. Clavicus Vile and Sanguine were both extremely bad at keeping secrets.

Peryite seemed like a reasonable candidate, but unfortunately the dragon prince was not on the best of terms with him or the Tribunal. Plus, there was a lot of rumors amongst the others that Peryite ate Jyggalag who somehow got released. This was shortly after Dagon was launched back into the void stream and to the Deadlands. He heard no concrete evidence of anything about this issue other than a Mazken spy of his confirming the identity of the new Sheogorath.

He knew that Hircine would never help him. Hermaeus Mora was Mephala's brother and the smartest of the princes; there was no way in Oblivion he could be trusted. That left only one Daedric Lord remaining…Meridia.

She wasn't like the others. Meridia was a Daedric Prince in title, but truthfully she was a Magna Ge. She was a fallen star of Aetherius. She was very similar to an Aedra in some ways. While it was true that the line between daedra and aedra were sketchy, they were distinctly different in their philosophical mindsets.

Daedra, were the spawn of Padomay, beings of chaos and change; Aedra, the servants of Anu, pawns of order and eternal stasis. Meridia herself was kin to Magnus in some way. Dagon wasn't entirely sure why she was kicked out of Aetherius. In fact none of the other princes knew besides Hermaeus Mora probably.

Just then, an epiphany sparked in the Prince of Destruction's mind, _'None of them would suspect her helping me, and she is completely neutral to our alliances. Plus by mortal standards she is good. Perhaps I could convince her to deceive Azura for me?!'_

Leaving one's realm in Oblivion was usually very foolish since it typically meant one of two things: You were either attempting to conquer another plane, or you were conspiring with another prince. Although thankfully, Dagon was considered an idiot by his peers and they only ever watched the Liminal bridge between his realm and Mundus. He would be able to stealthily enter Meridia's realm or collection of realms called the Colored Rooms without being noticed.

Dagon stood up from his throne catching the attention of his Dremora guards nearby. He looked to the nearest lord, "I'm going on an errand. Keep performing your duties and contact me with this sigil stone if any complications arise." The prince tossed a uniquely crafted orb at the Valkynaz before disappearing in a burst of flame.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Upon reaching the realm through a massive Oblivion gate, he found himself right outside of a golden city adorned with fauna and trees. Dagon took a moment to take in the scenery. He was standing in some kind ethereal grassy field dotted with all manner of flowers. It was very bright and colorful here, almost blindingly so. The sky seemed to be completely made of rainbows adorned with an endless sheet of blinding, blinking stars. She may not have been an Aedra anymore, but Dagon found Meridia's realm to be awfully similar to Aetherius. Though at least here things didn't seem stagnant and boring.

It wasn't long before a war horn sounded which was followed by hundreds of Aurorans who seemed panicked by his presence. They immediately proceeded to surround him and got into a fighting formation awaiting his next move.

Dagon's lack of aggression and the closing Oblivion gate greatly confused the stalwart Aurorans who vacantly stared at him. The red skinned prince assumed they were wondering where his Dremora army was. Without even bothering to look down, Dagon began to walk past them casually. They scurried to get out of his way as he wandered past them to the golden gate not too far away.

He didn't make it halfway before even more Aurorans came out from the gate lead by the angelic Meridia. She flew over and smashed on the ground in front of him with a growl or disapproval, "What do you think you're doing here in my realm, DAGON!?"

He was silent for a moment before smiling, "I thought I'd come to see you."

"You're awfully brave coming here alone? Where's your little dremora army? You're out of your mind if you think I'll let you conquer my realm!"

He sent a sharp glare at her and hissed, "If I had come to conquer, you would have already been defeated!"

Meridia raised a brow and shook her head in irritation, "I had no idea you fancied yourself a comedian. Did you come to entertain me? So far it's not working…"

Dagon knew he was going to have to back down and swallow his pride if this plan of his was to work. Against his nature he decided to shed his hostility.

"No, I came here to speak to you about a proposition of mine…in private," He responded with a calmer tone. Merida's golden white hair immediately began to burn with white hot flames as she drew her sword, "Give me one reason why I should grant you such a request?!"

The Prince of Destruction sighed, "Would it help if I said I'm willing to abide by your terms while I am here?"

Her hair stopped burning white as she sheathed her sword, "Fine, but you better have a damn good reason for intruding here uninvited. Come with me…and watch your step!"

Her Aurorans immediately backed off and dispersed as Meridia grabbed one of Dagon's wrists and teleported them to her palace. Upon arriving, Dagon found himself and Meridia on the peak of a jeweled spire that appeared to be made completely out of silver and gold. Gemstones of untold colors decorated it on all sides. Surrounding the top was a hanging garden of indescribable radiance and beauty.

Dagon looked around and felt uncomfortable. He was not used to being around such fragile and pretty things. Most plants normally burned in his presence and soft metals such as gold and silver were nonexistent in the Deadlands.

Unsure of what to do, Dagon decided to remain still. Meridia gave him an annoyed glance, "Sit down over there!" She pointed at a newly appeared chair in front of her throne. Dagon reluctantly did as she ordered and watched anxiously as she flew over. She landed in front of him before sitting down.

After a brief, uncomfortable silence she finally spoke, "So, you wanted to speak to me. Well here I am. Now what do you of all people want from me?"

"Well recently I've been thinking about you and-" he began but immediately stopped when Meridia coughed.

She shook her head in disbelief, "You what? OH this better not be some kind of clumsy come on."

Dagon looked at her confused not entirely understanding her meaning. After another awkward moment of her face palming he understood.

"What?! No, it's nothing like that…as if I would ever think of such a thing," he shot back defensively.

She huffed at him, "Oh really? So you just came here to tell me you were thinking about me? Stop wasting my time you idiot."

"I wasn't thinking about you like that! I was contemplating the idea of trusting you with some information. Don't flatter yourself, Meridia! You're awfully arrogant to think I of all people would find you attractive!" He shot back.

Her hair and wings erupted in the white flames again as she clenched her fists, "If this is your idea of cozying up to me, then it's failing miserably right now! Now tell me what you want or get out of my realm!"

"I need your help," he replied embarrassedly. Meridia quickly calmed down and soon found herself laughing at him, "Hahahahahaha, Mehrunes Dagon asking me for help?! Hahahahahaha, I never thought I'd see the day!"

He growled, "Stop laughing! This is difficult for me…I need you." The Prince of Destruction did not fully understand what he just said until it was too late.

Meridia immediately took it the wrong way, "So this is a confession? No wonder you wanted to get me alone for this…I don't know whether to feel flattered or disgusted."

"I said I needed help! Stop misinterpreting this!" Dagon shouted in frustration.

The winged Daedric Prince nodded her head slyly and winked, "Of course, you need…'help.' I had no idea you needed me so badly."

Dagon could clearly tell that she was enjoying this. He was honestly surprised by how quickly the conversation went from serious threats to Meridia teasing him. The Prince of Destruction shook his head and growled, "Stop treating this so lightly! I wouldn't have come all the way here if this wasn't important! Now will you be serious for one damned minute?!"

She writhed hysterically on her throne at the humiliated expression on Dagon's face, "Yes, I can see how important this must be for you. Let me guess, you need relationship advice? Maybe practice?! HAHAHAHA!"

He sighed heavily, "Yeah, laugh it up…will you help me or not?"

After a few minutes of random giggling she finally responded, "Why would I help you? In fact why would you even ask me for help?"

"It's complicated…it has to do with your neutral position between the factions and your obscurity," he answered with his serious tone.

Meridia crossed her arms and legs as her wings stretched widely, "Interesting…so you're looking to what? Ask me to join the bad daedra side? Well you can forget it. I refuse to help that fiend, Molag Bal. May the Tribunal smite him down."

"No, it's not about that. It's more personal. I want to tell you but I'm still not sure if I can trust you yet," he said quietly much to her fascination.

She shook her head in amusement, "When did I ever give you the impression that I was stupid? I'm not agreeing to anything unless I have all the facts. What are you up to, Dagon?"

He was silent for a long moment weighing the consequences of the worst case scenario in which Meridia would sell him out. Finally she chuckled breaking the silence, "Come on, Dagon, you're already knee deep into this relationship. You might as well confess it all to me."

Dagon glared at her in disapproval, "To what relationship are you referring?! Stop making jokes about this! I need to know whether or not I can trust you!"

She brushed a hand through her hair and smiled, "Take a leap of faith…if you make it worth my while, I'll entertain the thought of helping you."

Why those words? Why did she have to say "leap" to him. For some reason Dagon felt a strange sense of reassurance from this and finally decided to go for it, "I want to join forces with you. I need somebody to spy on the Tribunal for me so that I can outwit them and free myself from the curse of Alduin."

"Well well, Dagon, aren't you ambitious? You're definitely a lot smarter than the others give you credit for. Sadly, I fail to see how I benefit from your little plan. Not to mention, the Tribunal has never wronged me…what do you have to offer in exchange?" She smiled suggestively.

Dagon sighed, "What do you want as compensation?"

She stroked a hand through her golden white hair and grinned, "Well if you want me to stick my neck on the line to help you then I want two things. First, I want your protection against any of the others should the need ever arise. My enemies would be your enemies…that includes anybody who even looks at me funny. Is that understood? So if Boethiah or somebody else comes after me, you would have to protect me and my realm. However, your buddy Molag Bal is at the top of my list right now…don't even consider being my ally if you choose to stay on good terms with him."

This was not the outcome that Dagon wanted, but he reluctantly nodded as he began to realize that Meridia now had him by the balls. "Good, the other thing I want is for you to help me acquire something from Aetherius."

The Prince of Destruction raised a brow, "What? What do you want from Aetherius?"

She stood up with a deadly look of eagerness, "My crown…it was taken from me by Magnus before I got kicked out. It contains a lot of my power. With it I would be much more powerful…and since we're deciding to join forces it would be in both of our best interests to retrieve it."

Her lavender eyes sparkled with ambition as she stared at the awkwardly silent Dagon. He had a feeling that empowering Meridia was dangerous, but he was also concerned that Hermaeus Mora, Mephala, or Azura would notice them do this which defeated the purpose of his plan altogether.

"That defeats the point of you spying on them since they'll see you associating yourself with me. Not to mention, the only way I know of into Aetherius is through Magnus and that sounds foolish," he voiced his concern.

Meridia found his doubts to be comical, "Oh, Dagon, you needn't worry yourself over such things. The twilight does not see this corner of Oblivion. That is why they call me obscure if you remember. Also, there are backdoors into Aetherius…I know of one that just so happens to be within the reach of my influence."

"So why haven't you attempted to recover this crown yourself then?" Dagon asked skeptically.

The angelic princess shrugged, "I figured I only had one chance to go through…and I didn't want to waste it by going alone. You're more than strong enough to easily turn the balance in my favor."

Dagon immediately began to doubt the idea, "Is that so? How do I know this isn't some redemption trap of yours?"

"You are one of the most paranoid beings I have ever met, Dagon. Though I suppose that's only natural considering your long list of enemies." she noted slightly amused.

He shook his head and sighed, "Well when your enemies are smart, manipulative back-stabbers you have to be."

She nodded her head in approval, "I understand your concerns, but I assure you, Dagon, that I will do anything you want if you help me get my crown. If you want me to sing for you I will. If you want my Aurorans, they're yours. I'll even stab Azura if you want."

Dagon thought for a moment. Maybe there was a way he could come out on top of this situation. "You seem awfully concerned with acquiring this crown…might I know why?"

Meridia nodded her head, "Of course…there shouldn't be secrets in our relationship."

"Stop deflecting this with humor and stop saying 'relationship!'" Dagon roared in annoyance.

The angelic being stood up from her throne and flew over towards the massive red prince. He eyed her suspiciously as she reached a hand out and traced his cheek, "Why?"

He was about to go off on a rant before realizing that she was purposely trying to distract him from the subject. Dagon crossed two of his arms and pushed her away, "Don't try distracting me from this. It just seems too good to be true. How does this affect my plans to break my curse? What will you do with your power restored?" Dagon asked carefully in hopes that he wouldn't offend her.

The ethereal Meridia chuckled at him, "My my, Dagon, you are just so anxious aren't you? Way to kill the mood."

"Just answer the question…this doesn't have to be difficult. Keep things simple, the way I like it," Dagon responded completely irritated. Finally, Meridia decided to get more serious as she sat back down on her throne. Dagon eyed her anxiously waiting for a proper answer.

"When I get my crown, I'm going to do whatever I want to do…don't worry, I have no intention of interfering with any of your plans in Mundus. In fact I believe your Mythic Dawn worshippers had the right idea. Sometimes things must be destroyed for life to be reborn anew. The cycle must always go on," She explained. Dagon didn't like it, but for some reason he believed her sincerity.

"Although, there is one question I have for you, Dagon." She spoke up again with an inquisitive tone, "What do you intend to do once your curse is broken? Do you even remember who you used to be? Do you remember how you got cursed in the first place?"

He immediately decided to counter the questions with a cop out answer, "I don't know; I guess when the curse is broken, I'll do whatever I want to do.

She sent him a fierce glare, "You think you're pretty funny don't you? Fine, keep your secret then. We need to discuss a plan to get my crown."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I hope the few of you that do end up reading this enjoyed it. Mostly it's a fic depicting what I think would happen to the Daedric Lords after the events of Skyrim. If i decide to continue it, we'll visit some of your favorites.


End file.
